What Will Happen To New Girl Without Zooey Deschanel?

Warning: New Girl spoilers from last night's season finale ahead. Will New Girl work without the girl? According to series creator Liz Meriwether, we’re going to find out in the fifth season. She chatted about leading lady Zooey Deschanel’s impending season five departure and unpacked last night’s season four finale with The Hollywood Reporter, and the main takeaway is that fans should be prepared for a lot of changes and shift in the show’s focus. Like... Deschanel, who is pregnant with her first child, will be missing from four episodes when the series returns this fall. The storyline will accommodate her absence by sequestering Jess in jury duty and looping her into the plotline another way. “The idea behind it was to be able to do those pastel courtroom sketches, so you could still see her in the jury,” said Meriwether. “It's a little weird, but we're having fun with it.” Coach is officially leaving (sad, but not super surprising). Cece and Schmidt have answered the “will they or won’t they?” question with a definitive yes. They’re officially engaged and apparently, Schmidt is going to go wedding planning crazy — which makes perfect sense. With Jess gone for a while, New Girl will be able to turn the focus on characters who don’t usually get to take center stage; apparently, there’s an all-dudes episode coming our way. Of course, the sex mug from last season's finale was pretty much proof that the Jess and Nick romance storyline isn’t at an end. We’re still rooting for those crazy kids — but only time will tell.